Thursday, May 25, 2006

Well, you've all heard my ups and downs and all my woes of Ekoostik Hookah.....and iit's official.....I will be leaving in approximately eleven hours for my treck to Hookahville once again!!!!

Ekoostik Hookah lives on and has continuted touring. They recently invited their original lead singer, John Mullins, back to the band. So far, so good....Of course, there were some die hard ED fans, who was the old lead singer, but overall, their success has not faltered.

Hookahville is being held at a different venue this year called Legend Valley. For some of the older Hookah fans, or maybe I should say the fans who have been around longer than myself, this is going to bring back some good old memories. Hookahville was originally held there when they started having the festival several years ago. I'm excited for the change. I always like to see and explore someplace new, but I loved the Frontier Ranch where it has been held ever since I started seeing them.

Either way, I'm excited, and I'm even ready to hop out of bed at 4:00 in the morning to take off. That should get us there by about 8:30 or so. We should have plenty of time to set up camp, eat, and take a little break before the party starts!!!

So here I go again...adding another chapter to the story of the Hookah...maybe I WILL write a book someday......I ALWAYS have some good stories to tell after these trips. The problem is remembering them............

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Just wondering how everyone feels about the recent news about the phone companies screening our phone calls....here's a link....what do you think??? I'm not sure how I feel.

Of course, I want our country to be safe and secure, but I feel like the funds could maybe be used in other, more useful ways at the moment. Plus, I don't like feeling like I'm being watched, or listened to. Maybe now I understand a little more where my Mom is coming from with all her schizoid delusions about the government....maybe she knows something we don't.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Do any of you have anything that you consider lucky?? Like maybe a rabbit's foot, or do you believe in making wishes when you break a wish bone or blow out your birthday candles?

Let me know if you have anything you consider lucky, and I'll do my best to find out the origin behind the story. I got a book called "The Good Luck Book" that has an A-Z guide of all kinds of things...it's pretty cool.

Here are my examples:I have always loved and collected jade...my Dad always told me it was good luck....this is what the book says:

Jade:From the earliest times in China, jade charms in the shape of bats or storks have been believed to ensure long life. Jade carvings worn around the neck have been powerful lucky charms among the Chinese since the fouteenth century B.C. Even today, a Chinese businessperson might feel luckier holding a jade amulet when making important decisions.

In other parts of the world, jade is regarded as a charm against problems with the eyes. And from ancient times through the Middle Ages, it was used as a prescription for curing kidney disease. When Europeans first arrived in Central America, they were amazed to discover that the Incas in Peru shared this belief and routinely relied on jade charms to prevent kidney problems.

In many cultures, jade amulets are considered the best possible protection for women in childbirth. Some believe the stone is a bringer of rain and that it can drive away wild beasts and evil spirits. It is said to cure dropsy, abolish thirst and relieve palpitations of the heart. Few charms are more effective in assuring victory in battle or protecting against being struck by lightning.

Black Cat:As superstitions go, the idea that black cats are unlucky is of fairly recent vintage. It dates back to the Middle Ages, when just about everybody believed in witches. They also believed a witch had the power to become a cat and that black was always the color of choice. It followed that if a black cat should cross your path, it just might be a witch in disguise and that could bring nithing but bad luck.

Sometimes a black cat can bring good luck. They are regarded as very lucky in Japan. American folk wisdom has it that if one comes to your door, it brings good fortune to the household. Sailors have long believed that a black cat aboard ship will ensure a safe voyage, and for generations sailors' wives have adopted black cats to help guarantee that their husbands will come home safe and sound.

Anyway, I have found this book very intriguing, and it has a story for all types of good luck charms and traditions. Everything you could think of from shrunken heads to horseshoes to four leaf clovers has a reason behind it. So, if you're curious about anything like that, let me know, and I'll see if I can find it.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Ah yes....I'm a bloggin' fool tonight....I'm on a roll folks, so watch out!!!

I love poetry...yes I'm a little sappy that way, but I really appreciate something that catches my attention such as these few gems I will share here.

From my book called "Earth Prayers"

Waking up this morning, I smile,Twenty four brand new hours are before me.I vow to live fully in each momentand to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.~~THICH NHAT HANH~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Within the circles of our liveswe dance the circles of the years,the circles of the seasonswithin the circles of the years,the cycles of the moonwithin the circles of the seasons,the circles of our reasonswithin the cycles of the moon.Again, again we come and go,changed, changing. Handsjoin, unjoin in love and fear,grief and joy. The circles turn,each giving into each, into all.Only music keeps us here,each by all other held.In the hold of hands and eyeswe turn in pairs, that joiningjoining each to all again.And then we turn aside, alone,out of the sunlight goneinto the darker circles of return.~~WENDELL BERRY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave,There are souls that are our and true,Then give the world the best you have,And the best will come back to you.Give love, and love to your life will flow,A strength in your utmost need,Have faith, and a score of hearts will showTheir faith in your word and deed.Give truth, and your gift will be paid in kind;And honor will honor meet;And a smile that is sweet will surely findA smile that is just as sweet.Give pitty and sorrow to those who mourn,You will gather in flowers againThe scattered seeds from your thought outborneThough the sowing seemed but vain.For life is the mirror of king and slave,'Tis just what we are and do;Then give to the world the best you have,And the best will come back to you.~~MADELINE BRIDGES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This next poem kind of popped out of nowhere just at the right time. I picked up a book called "Poems That Touch the Heart" that was copyrighted in 1946 at a rummage sale and opened right up to this page......the timing couldn't have been better. I have a close friend whose wife recently filed for divorce....he was huge part of my support system through my divorce...and now it's my turn. Sometimes it takes others' misfortune to bring us back to reality.Sometimes we go our way carefree;No trouble comes to marThe routine of our lives, and weForget there is a scarOr wound in other lives, till painDescends on someone nearTo us, and then our hearts regainLost kindliness; we hearWith understanding of the woesOf others--a rebirthComes, and we feel for all of thoseWho suffer here on earth.~~MARGARET E. BRUNER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some of you may remember my entry about the song that Leon Russell and Ray Charles sang for Willie Nelson on his birthday bash DVD.

Just lettin' you all know that it's still bringing me to tears. I don't know what it is about that song...or maybe it's the combination of Leon and Ray and Willie's tears...whatever it is, I feel compelled to share the lyrics with you.

So here goes.......

A Song For Youi've been so many placesin my life and timesi've sung alot of songsi've made some bad rhymes

i've acted out my love on stageswith ten thousand people watchingbut we're alone nowand i'm singing this song to you

and i know your image of meis what i hope to bei treat anyone kindlybut darling can't you see

theres no one more important to medarling can't you please see through mecause were alone nowand im singing this song to you

you taught me precious secretsof a truth, witholding nothingyou came out in frontand i was hiding

but now i'm so much betterand if my words don't come togetherlisten to the melodycause my love is there, hiding

i love you in a placewhere theres no space and timei love you for all my lifeyou are a friend of mine

and when my life is overremember when we were togetherwe were aloneand i was singing this song to you

but i love you in a placewhere theres no space and timei love you for all my lifeyou are a friend of mine

and when my life is overremember when we were togetherwe were aloneand i was singing this song for you

we were aloneand i was singing this song for youwe were aloneand i was singing my song...singing this song for you

~~~Leon Russell~~~

Now, lets break this down a little.....obviously, Ray Charles is no longer with us, so the line when he sang "and when my life is over, remember when we were together, we were alone, and I was singing this song for you" is heart wrenching.

Also, I have yet to hear a line in a poem, a song, or just a sincere and genuine comment that touches me like "I love you in a place where there's no space and time." Wow...if anyone ever came up with that line for me....I would've been theirs on the spot!!

There's one last line that I want to point out that really touches me as well. That's when Leon says "but now I'm so much better, and if my words don't come together, listen to the melody, cause my love is there, hiding."

There's a little pause between "there" and "hiding" that gives me just enough time to let the tears start rollin'

New York, May 10 (DPA) The cannabis-smoking Bob Marley, the leading prophet of the Rastafarian religion who died 25 years ago on May 11, remains an enduring symbol of reggae, a Caribbean style of music that emphasises social and political grievances with mesmerising melodies.

Among Hopi Indians, Bob Marley fulfilled a centuries-old prophecy. The Nepalese consider him the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu and Australian Aboriginals honour the reggae legend as a prophet for peace and the rights of the oppressed.Marley lifted his voice fiercely and poetically against the suffering in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, and the arrogant attitude of the white upper class.

Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war, me say war, Marley sang in the song War.

Marley accurately predicted his music would live on after his untimely death in a Miami hospital at age 36, when cancer had spread from a spot of melanoma on his foot to his brain.After introducing Jamaican music to the world, Marley became the first musician of that country to achieve international stardom. No other reggae musician has reached his level of fame.

Marleys popularity resurfaces with each new generation of young people as they experiment with marijuana.The many images of Marley smoking a joint continue to appear on modern-day record releases and posters, and are a rallying cry for Rastafarians who consider cannabis a part of their religion that helps them get closer to their inner spirit - and who try to defend its use as such when they are arrested.

Marley drew huge audiences around the world and he died when his star was still on the rise. Some people consider the charismatic singer and songwriter the greatest rock star of all time.

Aside from reggae, Marley gave the world dreadlocks and red, green and yellow crocheted caps - colours synonymous with the Rastafarian movement, of which Marley was a member and later its most important prophet, especially among the poor people of Jamaica where the religion developed.

Most Rastafari believe that the Ethiopian monarch Haile Selassie I, who came to power in 1930 and died in 1975, was a reincarnation of Jesus Christ.The belief emerged in Jamaica under the influence of Marcus Garveys Back to Africa movement, which held Selassie to be the Black Messiah. Selassie, a devout Christian, never encouraged the belief.

Rastafari teaching is still a cornerstone in the conscience of Marley fans.

Just recently, fans in Passau, Germany, vandalized the spire of the citys cathedral by spray-painting the words Jah is mighty in the colours red, green and yellow. Jah is the Rastafari name for god.

Robert Nesta Marley was born Feb 6, 1945, in Rhoden Hall Jamaica, to a black Jamaican mother and a white British navy officer father who largely disappeared from Marley and his mothers life.

At age 14, Marley left his village to work in Kingston as a welder. In 1964, with short hair stylish at the time, he founded the group that eventually was called the Wailers with Peter Tosh.

For 10 years his fame was limited to the Caribbean island.British guitar virtuoso Eric Clapton, who had risen to fame in the 60s, helped Marley achieve international recognition with his chart-topping cover version of Marleys song, I Shot the Sheriff.

In 1974, Marley released his breakthrough album Natty Dread, an immediate hit among European Bohemians and hippies in New York Citys Greenwich Village. It included the song No Woman, No Cry and soon after, Marleys albums were selling millions worldwide.

By the mid 70s Marley was so revered in Jamaica that his influence as a poet and prophet became a political threat.In December 1976, he was wounded in an attack at his home in Kingston. He left Jamaica for more than a year, releasing his biggest album to date - Exodus - in 1977 with the hit songs Jamming and One Love/People Get Ready.

By 1980, Marley was enjoying worldwide popularity and preparing for a US tour, but his health suddenly forced him to withdraw from the spotlight.He collapsed while jogging in New York Citys Central Park and underwent cancer surgery in Miami. In early 1981 he spent time at a cancer clinic in Germany, receiving treatment with herbal teas and grains.As he embarked on his return journey to the US, he collapsed in Munich airport and died only a few days later in Miami.

Marley left behind 11 children fathered with eight different women, hundreds of songs written in his relatively short career of 15 years and a steady stream of royalties.

He was honoured in Jamaica in 1990 when the country declared his birthday, Feb 6, a national holiday.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Well, the last few weeks have provided a long winding road of emotions.....I'm glad to say that I think the majority of the chaos is over.

Most of you know that my step-mother, Roberta, passed away a few weeks ago. Her illness had been a huge struggle for me because of our lack of contact over the last few years. Her battle is over now, and I pray she is at peace.

Of course, our precious Ian was finally brought into the world only about ten days ago, and boy what a scare that was!! I'm very happy to say that he and Mom are back at home and from what I hear, all is well. That little Ian gave us all a good scare....I think he'll do everything to the extreme if he follows his ways of his first few days on this earth.

One of my best friends, Mandy, got married last weekend. After seeing the struggles she's been through, I am so excited to see things working out for her. I am puppy-sitting for her right now, so I have five...yes...five wienie dogs at the house right now.The wedding was beautiful and flawless. Nobody fell or messed up their lines. No one knocked over any candles or caught their hair on fire, so it was perfect. Now, I'm not normally an emotional person, but for some reason, Mandy really got me when she was dancing with her dad at the reception. I sat with her younger sister and teared up while they danced to Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton. It was good to see her and her father so close that day. They get along well, but aren't as close as I was with my father. Of course, I compared a lot that went on that day to how I would've been with my dad, so I was abnormally emotional that day.

Ryan and I also had our good friends Jeff and Karen, from St. Louis, over for the weekend. What a hectic weekend to have company, but we still managed to cram in a lot of partying....it's always so good to see them. We only see them a couple times a year, so it's always hard to say goodbye.

I picked up the phone shortly after Jeff and Karen left, only to hear my mom on the other line crying her eyes out. Her cat had been hit by a car. The really bad part of it is the fact that the nieghbors saw it happen and said the driver swerved to hit the cat.....ooohhhhh that pisses me off!!! That's just like hitting a little girl's kitty.....my mom takes things like that very hard. Although she doesn't mean to, she often exresses her emotions in a very childish manner, so I've been trying to console her the past few days.

However, I have felt extremely happy about the beautiful weather we've had recently. I've been able to get out and do some yard work, which always makes me feel good. I always say I'm solar powered....I feel much better when I have the sun to fuel me.

So, after the roller coaster of dealing with death in a couple different situations, new life being brought into the world, good company, beautiful weather, and sharing the joy of marraige of my friends, I'm ready for a slow steady predictable ride for awhile............

........anyone have a Harley they could take me for a nice long road trip on??????

Attics of my Life

About Me

I am a 33 year old female going on 16. I still get carded for cigarettes. I'm finally getting to the age that I appreciate that.
I am an x-ray technologist and also the clinical instructor for the school of radiography for St. Vincent Hospital. Basically that means I teach people how to become an x-ray tech.
I have 3 mini dachshunds and a big fat beagle. Those are my children.
I'm a struggling guitar novice, but I love to pick around. I also play a little piano.
I love to go to concerts and festivals. I love to travel, even though I don't go very far very often.
My husband and I volunteer for a no-kill animal rescue in our hometown. We have been foster parents for several animals, and helped them find their new forever homes.
Living life to its fullest is my daily goal.